It didn’t take long for QB Jason Campbell to remind Raiders fans about JaMarcus Russell. After a so-so performance last week – 22 of 37 for 180 yards, a touchdown and an interception – Oakland coach Tom Cable benched Campbell in the third quarter of today’s game against St. Louis.

He wasn’t the only starting QB to get pulled from a game today – that honor also touched Tennessee’s Vince Young and Carolina’s Matt Moore.

Compared to No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford – who’s been extremely efficient through the first two quarters – Campbell was a slouch. He’d led the Raiders to a FG and was 8 of 15 for 87 yards, an interception and two fumbles. As the first half ended, Oakland fans chanted, “Bruce! Bruce! Bruce!”

In the second half, the crowd got what it wanted. Cable inserted backup Bruce Gradkowski, who completed 3 of 5 passes 38 yards on a drive that ended in a field goal and pulled the Raiders to within 7-6.

The Raiders axe to grind aside, it makes a LOT of sense that the Cardinals are trying to deal Leinart (and would be relatively open about their interest). After all, they only have a few days to make something happen before they're forced to either keep him or cut him; keeping him would involve either dumping one of the rookies they like or holding onto four quarterbacks.

One big problem, though, is that Leinart wants to start, and there just aren't a lot of starting spots out there.

Lawyers for Chargers WR Vincent Jackson are demanding a retraction from the San Diego Union-Tribune after publishing a story in which it claimed Jackson was receiving financial support from his agents while he’s not in training camp. Pro Football Talk has the story. I’ll refrain from saying anything more, because I certainly don’t want to receive any kind of correspondence from Jackson’s lawyers.

- Former Bengals LB Rashad Jeanty, who was released by Cincinnati on Monday after failing a physical, is known as a good dude in the locker room and a great teammate. But man, his agents are pissed with the team’s training staff. This does not make Cincinnati’s trainers look very good, especially coming on the heels of the Antonio Bryant disaster.

- Raiders QB Jason Campbell participated in Oakland’s walk-through on Monday and he performed the same drills as all other quarterbacks. Campbell suffered a “stinger” and a wrist injury during last Saturday’s game against San Francisco.

- Former Cardinals QB Kurt Warner is officially a member of the next season of “Dancing with the Stars.” I don’t think he’ll be the odds-on favorite to win the competition, though. After all, Jennifer Grey from “Dirty Dancing” also is competing.

-Packets OLB Brad Jones likely only will play in one preseason game because the shoulder he injured Aug. 19 still is giving him problems. But despite the fact he’s been fitted with a shoulder harness, he says he feels great about where he stands. In fact, he said his new piece of equipment makes him look a little like Robocop. And as we all know, Robocop was pretty badass.

Apparently, Oakland QB Jason Campbell doesn’t just have a stinger that will hinder him for the time being. During his Sunday news conference, Raiders coach Tom Cable said Campbell also has a wrist injury. And the wrist injury might be more serious than the stinger, though Cable didn’t say how serious the injury might be.

Campbell did have an X-ray and an MRI on his wrist today.

On a positive note, though, Cable also said RB Michael Bush – who broke his thumb Saturday – could be back by the season opener.

“Yes, there is a good chance,” Cable said. “There will be a procedure done (Monday) to repair it and then we will know more after that.”

Yes, we know it’s the preseason, but the Raiders 32-17 beating of the Bears on Saturday night meant something to Jerry McDonald of the Contra Costa Times . It meant that dreaming of a .500 season isn’t a joke. It meant that, at long last, Oakland has real talent in its organization.

From the story: When the pair of .500 hopefuls met on the field, the Raiders had decidedly more muscles to flex than did the Bears. They were bigger, faster, better, stronger, more explosive. And that was with Richard Seymour and Nnamdi Asomugha, the two biggest names on their defense, not even suited up. Starting cornerback Chris Johnson sat it out. Same goes for running back Darren McFadden and wide receivers Chaz Schilens and Darrius Heyward-Bey, all counted on to be important parts of this year’s team.

I don’t think the Raiders can compete with the Broncos and the Chargers in the AFC West – actually I’m almost positive about that – but it’s certainly possible the Raiders go 8-8 or … gasp! … record a winning record for the first time since 2002.

I just looked at their schedule, I can envision 7-9, but assuming Seymour and Asomugha play at a high level on defense, QB Jason Campbell plays solidly along with RBs McFadden and Michael Bush, and the underachieving offensive line can protect its quarterback, getting to .500 wouldn’t be a shock.

Stevenson, when questioned by prosecutors, said he and Russell had partied at clubs the night before and returned home around 7:00 am on July 5th. "We were still hanging out," said Stevenson, who told the judge that Russell took a woman to his bedroom when he went to sleep in the early hours of the morning. The woman was gone before police arrived that afternoon, according to the testimony.

Prosecutors then asked Stevenson who had the Styrofoam cup containing an orange liquid, which investigators say included codeine cough syrup. Stevenson answered "myself," setting off a furry of objections from his attorney.

Al Davis making outrageous comparisons is nothing new. But it seemed like we'd reached a period in Raiders history where anytime you saw Al in public it was really just a remake of Weekend at Bernie's things had calmed down a little.

"I see this young Jason Campbell as a football player like I saw Jim Plunkett," Davis said. "He has everything. He was 13-0 in college at Auburn. He can throw up the field. He can run. He's big. He's smart."

Jason Campbell IS talented. He CAN launch the ball. He CAN run. He IS big. And he IS smart.

But he is NOT going to lead the Raiders to a Super Bowl this year. Which is what Plunkett did. Personally, I think the Raiders will be good -- second in the AFC West is my prediction -- and certainly, they will be improved over last year.

But it's one thing to sing someone's praises. It's an entirely different thing to heap unrealistic expectations on the new quarterback in town.

It sounds like QB Jason Campbell made a good first impression during the opening of Oakland's training camp. Not that he had to make much of an effort to surpass the production of JaMarcus Russell, but it’s nice to know that the former Redskins signal-caller is putting smiles on his teammates’ faces.

“Oh man, it was great,” said WR Louis Murphy in quotes captured by CBSSports.com Rapid Reporter Eric Gilmore . “He came in, commanded the huddle, very sharp on the plays, really spoke loudly in the huddle, so it was good to be able to follow our quarterback.”